Garment hanger



March 29, 1955 w. D. SHERRARD 2,705,097

- GARMENT HANGER Filed March 14, 1952 INVENTOR VViZZz'ezm D. ,'berr'ar'd ATTORNEY United States Patent GARMENT HANGER William D. Sherrard, Columbus, Ohio Application March 14, 1952, Serial No. 276,499

2 Claims. (Cl. 223-91) The present invention relates generally to garment hangers, and more particularly to an improved garment or clothing hanger comprising detachable shoulder form and clamping sections adapted respectively to support garments normally hung in the shoulder regions thereof, such as coats, blouses, etc. and garments which are normally supported in a folded or creased condition, such as trousers, skirts, etc.

The usual type of garment hanger comprises a laterally extended shoulder form portion and a lower cross bar portion, upon which may be supported, for example, a mans suit comprising a coat and a pair of trousers, the coat being supported in the shoulder regions thereof upon the lateral extensions of the hanger, while the trousers are either folded or clamped to the crossbar portion. The primary disadvantage of the ordinary garment hanger stems from the difiiculty in assembling a suit of clothing upon the hanger in a manner to prevent wrinkling of the separate coat and trouser elements of the suit, as it is necessary to first engage the trousers with the crossbar or clamping portion of the hanger and thereafter mount the coat upon the shoulder-supporting extensions.

It follows, therefore, that the primary object of the present invention is to provide a garment hanger which comprises separate and readily detachable shoulder form and clamping members adapted respectively to receive shoulder-supported garments and garments which are ordinarily suspended in a folded or creased condition.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger which comprises a pair of hingedly connected clamping sections adapted to receive and firmly hold articles of wearing apparel such as trousers, skirts and the like, and a separate shoulder form member which is slidable upon the clamping sections and detachable therefrom for receiving and supporting garments such as coats or the like, and wherein means is provided for sliding the shoulder form member relative to the clamping member in a manner to impart clamping movement to the separate sections thereof.

For a further and more detailed understanding of the present invention and the various objects and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a garment hanger formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the clamping ring element.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates generally the present garment hanger in its entirety, and the same may be formed from any suitable materials, such as metal, synthetic plastics, or wood.

The hanger comprises a clamping section embodying a first relatively flat Y-shaped panel 6 which terminates at its upper end in an arcuately curved hook extension 7 adapted to be suspended from a wall-supported rod or other suitable support after the manner of the ordinary garment hanger. The section 6 at its lower end is bifurcated to provide separate and relatively transversely spaced jaw members 8, the lower end portions of the separate jaw members terminating in inwardly directed clamping surfaces 9.

Connected with the upper shank portion of the section 6, a short distance below the hook extremity 7, is a hinge 2,705,097 Patented Mar. 29, 1955 member 10, one leaf of which is secured to the inner side of the section 6 in any suitable manner such as by fastening devices, not shown, while the opposite leaf section of the hinge is secured to the inner side surface of a second clamping section 11, toward the upper end thereof. The second clamping section, with the exception of the hook extremity 7, follows closely the outline and shape of the first section 6, the same terminating in bifurcated separate clamping jaws 12 which are provided with the inwardly directed gripping surfaces 13. Thus, the hinge member 10 provides for relative pivotal swinging movement between the separate sections 6 and 11 to bring the separate gripping surfaces 9 and 13 into substantial engagement with one another, in order to grip and firmly hold the cuff portion of a pair of trousers, or the waistband of a skirt, such as indicated by broken lines at 14, between the separate sections 6 and 11.

The outer section 11 is provided upon its outer side surface with. an elongated and longitudinally tapered lug member 15 which terminates at its lower end in a limit stop 16. The opposite or inner section 6 is likewise provided with a stop member 17 in .the same horizontal plane as the member 16 carried upon the opposite section 11.

Slidably carried upon the shank portions of the sections 6 and 11, is a rectangular and slotted frame or ring member 18. The ring member 18 defines a closed rectangular opening 19 through which the shank portion of the sections 6 and 11 may freely pass, and on one side of the opening 19, the ring member 18 is formed with a slot or keyway 20 which may be brought into registration with the tapered lug 15 carried uponthe section 11. Thus, upon movement of the ring member 18 downwardly upon the shanks of the separate sections 6 and 11, the tapered outer surface of the lug 15 forces the section 11 inwardly toward the section 6 in a manner to bring the jaws 8 and 12 into clamping relationship, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Conversely, as the ring member 18 is raised or elevated upon the shanks of the sections, the same are free to move relatively apart due to the normal. spacing between the side walls of the opening 19 and the outer sides of the sections 6 and 11, and if desired, the ring member 18 may be removed from the shank portions of the sections 6 and 11 and reversed so as to place the slot 20 adjacent the first section 6 to increase the clamping tension placed upon the sections when the ring member is moved downwardly over the lug 15. The individual limit stops 16 and 17 provided upon the separate sections 6 and 11 serve to limit the downward sliding movement of the collar or ring member l8 to a position providing for -firm engagement of the gripping jaws 8 and 12.

Also slidable upon the shanks of the sections 6 and 11, is an arcuately curved shoulder form member 21 which is suitably recessed on an under surface to provide a shallow chamber or recess 22 conforming to the outline of the collar 18. The intermediate or central portion of the shoulder form member 21 is slotted outwardly to one side thereof to permit the latter to be moved transversely of the shanks of the sections 6 and 11 to thereby remove the shoulder form member 21 from the remainder of the garment hanger.

In operation, the shoulder form member 21 is preferably disengaged from the separate clamping sections and the lateral extremities thereof inserted into the shoulder and sleeve portions of a coat or similar garment, and thereafter, the shoulder form member 21 is once again replaced upon the shanks of the sections 6 and 11, after the separate sections have received and clamped a pair of trousers or skirt waist therebetween. The bottom recess 22 provided in the shoulder form member 21 enables the same to conveniently cover and conform to the shape of the collar or ring member 18 when mounted upon the shanks of the separate sections, and the weight of a garment supported upon the shoulder form member 21 serves to tighten the collar or ring member 18 downwardly upon the shanks, thus insuring against accidental release of a pair of trousers or a skirt clamped between the jaws 8 and 12.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a useful and mechanically eflicient garment hanger which is characterized by its ability to separate into two portions for the eflEective support of coat-type garments and garments adapted to be suspended, such as trousers, skirts or the like, with provision being made for the reassembly of the separate portions in a manner to prevent the wrinkling of the separate garments supported thereon.

While a present preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail, it will be manifest that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

I. A garment hanger comprising a pair of inverted Y-shaped members each terminating at their lower ends in a plurality of relatively spaced garment gripping jaws; a supporting hook provided on the upper portion of one of said members; hinge means connecting said members for relative swinging movement between a first position wherein the jaws of said members are relatively engaged and a second position wherein said jaws are relatively spaced apart to receive a first garment therebetween; a tapered wedge element carried on one of said members; and means removably and slidably carried on said members and engageable with said wedge element for moving said members to and holding the same in said first position, said last-named means including a slotted collar removable in its entirety from said members and said hook and an arcuately curved slotted shoulder form for the reception of a shoulder-supported garment also removable in its entirety from said members and said hook and arranged, when positioned on said members, to bear against said collar to prevent accidental movement of the latter from its wedge element-engaging position.

2. A garment hanger comprising a pair of hingedly connected garment-gripping sections provided at one end with a hook element for supporting said hanger and terminating at their opposite end in opposed gripping surfaces, said sections being arranged to swing relative to one another between a first garment-gripping position and a second garment-releasing position; a slotted locking collar slidably and removably carried on said sections and movable to lock said sections in said first garment gripping position; and a slotted shoulder form member slidably and removably carried on said sections and arranged to bear against said collar to prevent accidental movement of the latter from its section-locking position, said shoulder form member serving to receive and support an article of clothing from the shoulder portions thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 883,785 Cazier Apr. 7, 1908 1,126,342 Bailey Jan. 26, 1915 FOREIGN PATENTS 274,327 Great Britain July 21, I927 

